Speaker cables do need to be replaced or at the very least cleaned up on the exposed ends from time to time as copper does oxidize which can give you poor connections. It is situations like this that someone buys the expensive cables and then proclaims them to be soooo much better than standard copper when it is just the old oxidized wire causing a problem.

Gary, hopefully it didn't really sound good to you, because if the comment was meant other than jokingly, it's sheer nonsense. Any copper exposed to air(e.g., the stripped end of a speaker cable)will have some surface oxidation over a long period of time which can either be cleaned off with a mild abrasive or the stripped end can be trimmed off and another half inch stripped. This is true regardless of whether the cable cost $1 or $100,000.

Gary, hopefully it didn't really sound good to you, because if the comment was meant other than jokingly, it's sheer nonsense. Any copper exposed to air(e.g., the stripped end of a speaker cable)will have some surface oxidation over a long period of time which can either be cleaned off with a mild abrasive or the stripped end can be trimmed off and another half inch stripped. This is true regardless of whether the cable cost $1 or $100,000.

John, one of the differences can be the quality of the insulation used in the construction of the cable. Over time i think that the insulation can break down if the manufacture uses the cheapest possible stuff.